From The ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE AT BGSU
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Bowling Green State University President Rodney K. Rogers, Ph.D. announced today that the Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science at Bowling Green State University is part of a team that will conduct a study that could help Ohio authorities safely, quickly, and reliably field test drugs for the presence of opioids.
The Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science (the Center) and Vuronyx Technologies are part of a partnership that today received a $200,000 grant as part of the Ohio Third Frontier’s Opioid Technology Challenge, an effort to find technology-based solutions to address or improve opioid abuse prevention, treatment, and overdose avoidance and response.
The grant funds will be used to develop small, portable paper test cards that could be used by first responders, law enforcement agencies, medical professionals, and crime scene investigators in the field to quickly detect opioids and cutting agents in drug samples. The Center will conduct a study to validate the results of the test cards using control substance standards alone and in the presence of cutting agents at various concentrations.
“Right now, we discourage local agencies from field testing drugs because opioids are just so dangerous, but we are excited about the prospect of helping to develop this new technology,” said Attorney General DeWine. “The goal is to help local authorities quickly determine what type of drugs they’ve encountered while limiting the chance for an accidental exposure.”
“As a public University, we’re committed to helping address the critical societal issues facing the state,” said President Rogers. “This is a great example of the real-world, applicable research the center is doing to aid law enforcement.”
“We welcome this opportunity to partner with Vuronyx to develop this rapid opioid detection technology,” added Dr. Jon Sprague, Director of the Center.
More information on the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge can be found here.
